At the moment I write this, we sit a mere 46 hours away from the NHL Trade Deadline. The waters in Detroit are still calm, and everyone keeps asking the same question: When is Steve Yzerman going to make a splash?
It feels like it should be soon, but it’s felt that way for a couple of days now. And time is dragging on as we get nearer and nearer to 3:00 pm Monday.
Should a deal be struck soon, one of the names that could possibly be involved is F Pius Suter, a FA signing that the Wings made over last offseason. Suter showed promise in his first season in Chicago, which caused much excitement when a deal was struck for him to don the Winged Wheel. Pius has had a decent but relatively quiet campaign in the ’21-’22 season, with 24 points in 61 games.
Recently, after Detroit went into a long tailspin and losing streak, many more names from the roster became more frequently mentioned in trade rumors. Suter’s name is on that list.
Pros of Trading Pius Suter
Pius has been a solid addition to the Red Wings roster this year. Nothing to lose your head over, of course — but he has added better depth to a center corps that still desperately needs more of it before the Wings can compete. The instant thought is that trading Suter would be counterproductive to that need, right?
Well, it’s clear to just about everyone that this Wings roster as currently built is not winning much of anything in the future, so some changes and improvements do have to be made as the franchise strives to reach the postseason again. Is Pius Suter a good second/third line center on this current roster? Absolutely. Is he a guy that we think we want in our top 9 when we’re trying to compete deep into the season/postseason?
If the answer to that question is no, then that’s a great reason to try to get something for him now, because his value can only decrease as his contract moves into its final year next season and he gets older. You always risk his production dipping the longer you wait, as well. Suter has had his defensive struggles as well, with the occasional lapse leading to a goal.
The price for Pius Suter would obviously not be incredibly high. These are the two scenarios in which I see Pius Suter getting traded:
- Suter –> <–6th/7th round pick
- Larger piece (ex: Bertuzzi), Suter, Picks (?) –> <–Possibly a proven D, prospect, picks
Cons of Trading Pius Suter
The first con that comes to my head is that he is still relatively young. Suter is 25 years old, just in his second season in the NHL. He has certainly shown skill and promise, both in his offensive game and his faceoffs. He has also been playing toward the middle/bottom of a lineup that is not extremely deep, and for a coach that many think is going to be relieved of his duties before ’22-’23.
Do we want to give Suter a chance to play on an improved team, with younger, faster teammates, and for a new coaching staff?
In my estimation, the ceiling for Pius Suter is probably somewhere from 40-60 points per season. It seems that the floor is somewhere around 20. If you could get 40-50 points out of Pius Suter and an improved defensive game, and put him on the 3rd/4th line and the penalty kill, would you take that going forward? I think I would — but again, that scenario is entirely hypothetical. But not impossible…
Prediction
Do I think Pius Suter will be traded?
With my best, educated guess: No.
I think Suter will remain a Red Wing next year. I think a move is coming, and a Tyler Bertuzzi or a Marc Staal could be shipping out of town soon, but I think #24 is staying put. He has another year on his contract and could maybe provide an elevated level of depth scoring for a hopefully improved team next season.
He’s young, he’s quick, and he plays hard. That’s valuable in today’s NHL, and the Red Wings’ roster is slowly becoming filled out by that archetype. I wouldn’t mind seeing what Suter can do playing with more and more guys that have games like his.
But, at the end of the day, there’s one opinion that matters: Stevie Y’s. If the right price is out there, I’m sure he’ll do what he thinks is right for the direction of the team.